Archer S8 Will Use Augmented Reality and It’s Awesome

Archer is one of my favourite television shows and as it’s reaching its eighth season, you can guarantee that the comedians and writers behind its glory are doing something marvellous to celebrate. If you have never seen Archer, feel free to watch it on Netflix before reading any further.

If you’re an extreme mega-fan of the show (and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you be?) they’ve had you in mind while creating the latest season. The show has announced that they’ll be using augmented reality to enhance the viewer’s experience and make sure that there’s stuff that they can experience through a smartphone app called Archer P.I.

Although the concept is very cool, the app hasn’t been spread across the world just yet, so Aussie fans of Archer can’t get in on the action. While it’s definitely a shame, there’s not much we can do about it except wait patiently.

The series technical director Bryan Fordney explains the difficulty in identifying objects within the episode that can also link up to Augmented Reality content below:

“We have to start at a point where the episode is pretty much completely animated. We need to find images, that are targets in the show that work well. It’s tricky. You take a bunch of inanimate objects, and you’re like ‘OK, what is the story we can tell here.’ Those objects create more objects we create out of thin air, and as you interact with them, you uncover items that aren’t targets.”

The augmented reality technology being used throughout the season is on a similar premise as Pokemon Go; the app encouraged users to interact with objects that weren’t actually there in their real lives. The app’s official description hints heavily at what users can expect, read it below:

“Open the app and find items and case clues to help you get started. During all-new episodes of Archer: Dreamland, use your iPhone/iPad camera to point at designated targets on screen, and watch them come to life with new clues that will help you solve the case. And continue sleuthing during the week by finding additional clues that are hiding in “real world” places like Archer billboards, TV commercials, the Archer Facebook page, and FXNetworks.com. But don’t worry, you aren’t in this alone. Archer will be giving you helpful hints along the way. Well, hopefully they are helpful.”

It all sounds promising. Executive producer Matt Thompson went on to elaborate the app’s functionality:

“Once the season starts, each episode will offer new clues that fans can find and collect in order to solve the case. Clues are discovered by pointing a phone or tablet’s camera at a television, computer or real world objects, activating animated experiences and collectible objects. Fans who use the app are also eligible for a weekly sweepstakes for prizes to reward their detective skills.”